Romania acquired the Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) label for its Dobrogea pie after almost two years of determined and sustained opposition from its neighbours.
The agreement was reached between Bulgaria, Romania and the Directorate General for Agriculture and Rural Development (DG Agri) of the European Commission.
“Romania will receive European recognition through the registration of the product ‘Dobrogea PGI Pie’ and its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union, with all rights, for an unlimited period,” Ionuț Diaconeasa, advisor in the Directorate General for European Affairs and International Relations of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MADR) said.
This means the decision will be approved at the next DG Agri meeting in March, which will be published in the Official Journal of the EU, most likely in April.
“Bulgaria’s opposition is based on the common history of the Dobrogea region, which also included a territory in Bulgaria, and our neighbours have made a determined and sustained opposition for almost two years,” Diaconeasa added.
Steps for the EU to recognise the product as Romanian began in 2017, when the Traditional Moesis Association was founded, to promote the product and producers, but also building the identity of Romanian products on both domestic and foreign markets.
A year later, in December 2018, the documentation was submitted to MADR for obtaining European recognition of the product “Dobrogea Pie – Protected Geographical Indication”. In April 2019, the national opposition filed by SC Dobrogea SA ended, and the file was sent to the EC in the electronic system “eAmbrosia” in May 2019.
The application was published in the Official Journal of the EU in February 2021, with Bulgaria subsequently submitting a reasoned statement of opposition. As of July 2021, the Commission invited the opponent and the applicant to start consultations.
Dobrogean pie is a pastry made from sheets filled with salted telema cheese mixed with curd and eggs. The sheets are made by stretching and pulling the dough.
Romania currently has ten products recognised on European quality systems, nine of which with PGI, namely: Topoloveni plum magiun, Sibiu salami, smoked walnut from Țara Bârsei, smoked Danube scrumbie, Pleșcoi sausages, Sibiu cheese, Săveni cheese, salad with pike roe from Tulcea, traditional salad with carp roe, and one, Ibănești cheese, with Protected Designation of Origin (PDO).
Of the 1,760 food products member states registered in the European quality systems, only ten are Romanian food products.
(Maria Smarandache | EURACTIV.ro)
Source: euractiv.com
